Summary

This poll, conducted April 6-9, 2006, is part of a
continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on
the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues.
Respondents were asked to give their opinions on the current direction
of the country, the most important problem the country is facing, the
national economy, and to rate the job performance of the United States
Congress. Respondents were also asked about the way George W. Bush
was handling certain issues, such as the economy, immigration, the war
in Iraq, and terrorism, whether or not they approved of his overall
job performance, and whether or not he and his policies would affect
the way they would vote in Congressional elections. The next section
of the survey addressed immigration, legal and illegal immigrants,
amnesty, and a security fence between the United States and Mexico.
The survey also contained questions about Pope Benedict XVI, the
Catholic clergy, various religious groups, Creationism, the Bible, and
the respondent's religious background, beliefs, and practices.
Respondents were then asked for their opinions on the Republican and
Democratic parties, and the war in and the future of Iraq. Additional
questions solicited information on whether or not the respondents or
someone they knew had served in Iraq, as well as the respondents'
television news viewing habits. Background information on respondents
includes military service, voter registration status, party
identification, marital status, sex, religious preference, education
record, age, ethnicity, and income.

Sample

A variation of random-digit dialing using primary sampling
units (PSUs) was employed, consisting of blocks of 100 telephone
numbers identical through the eighth digit and stratified by
geographic region, area code, and size of place. Within households,
respondents were selected using a method developed by Leslie Kish and
modified by Charles Backstrom and Gerald Hursh (see Backstrom and
Hursh, SURVEY RESEARCH. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press,
1963).

Universe

Adult population of the United States aged 18 and over
having a telephone at home.